laptop brands

[gingin6789]

I have an HP Pavilion 15.4" touch-screen laptop. I got a laptop with such a big screen because I really like having the number keypad to the right of the keyboard.

 

I do love it a lot, but I am still getting used to Windows 8.  I also invested in a 19" TV that I use as a second monitor.  It helps SO MUCH with doing research, and the TV was less expensive than a new computer monitor.  

Edited February 25, 2014 by gingin6789

[gellert]

I got a Macbook Pro 5 years ago and it is only just now nearing the end of its lifespan (I can hear the telltale click).  I'm planning to get a 13 inch Macbook Air next, as my PI recommends it for portability and I plan to use an external HDD to offset the limited storage capacity.  Otherwise I plan to max out the specs.  I've heard good things about the longevity of the HDD on the newer Macbooks as well. 

 

I'd try a PC for financial reasons, but downsides are: all my software is Mac, and if I got a PC I'd spend 90% of my time playing Skyrim instead of being productive.

[Human_]

Nothing in the market compares to the macbook. Once you've used a macbook for a period of time, anything else you get your hands on just feels shitty. If you don't need a performance machine, I would suggest the macbook air. Otherwise I'd say go for the retina.

[seeingeyeduck]

I agree. I started out with compaq and sony and after getting sic of windows crashes I switched to a MacBook after they introduced OS 10. Never want to go back...

Though actually my plan is to use an ipad that we got for Xmas and just connect my wireless keyboard to it. It's got decent storage so I can use it for word processing and internet. Don't really know what else I'd need on a day to day basis. If I wanted to video or photo edit, I do it on my iMac. I debated getting an Air but it seemed wasteful. Anyhow, it's the lightest option of all aside from connecting the keyboard to a phone!

[overworkedta]

Macs are great, don't get me wrong, but they are prohibitively expensive for a lot of people for similar components found in almost ANY PC half their price.  You are paying for OSX, which makes sense in some fields where the OS works seamlessly and makes NO sense in others (like mine) where half your programs won't work and everything is 10x's harder. In my dept. there are both Macs and PC's but the people who are working hard on programming with R and are real stats heads do most things on a PC because they are 10x's easier to work with.  Our campus is also really mac friendly, which is nice, but I have been on many that were anything but.  Also, you should plan to keep your machine for 5 years - as few of us do.  I want the option to upgrade in 2 years to have a new "toy" because I love tech.  Macs aren't friendly for a grad student budget in the same way.

 

TL;DR - I think Macs are nice if you can deal with the hassles of programs you need potentially not work and you have a big budget and plan to keep this computer a long time.

[Maleficent999]

I've been really wanting a tablet and I need a new laptop before I start my PhD program. I'd love to have both be Apple brands but I can't really afford that at this point. I've been looking at hybrids. HP has the X2, which I really like so far and is relatively affordable for a tablet/laptop. They have one with an i5 and an i7 processor so I'll probably go for the beefed up processing power if I go with that. I've been saving for a while now so I'll have to see what my financial situation is closer to September.

[zipykido]

I've been really wanting a tablet and I need a new laptop before I start my PhD program. I'd love to have both be Apple brands but I can't really afford that at this point. I've been looking at hybrids. HP has the X2, which I really like so far and is relatively affordable for a tablet/laptop. They have one with an i5 and an i7 processor so I'll probably go for the beefed up processing power if I go with that. I've been saving for a while now so I'll have to see what my financial situation is closer to September.

 

My brother just bought a lenovo yoga 2 pro from BB for $1200, 256 SSD and 8 gigs of ram. I think that it is one of the best values on the market right now if you're looking for a hybrid.

[Maleficent999]

My brother just bought a lenovo yoga 2 pro from BB for $1200, 256 SSD and 8 gigs of ram. I think that it is one of the best values on the market right now if you're looking for a hybrid.

I actually looked at that one but I like the kind where the tablet part physically detaches from the keyboard. If I remember correctly, I didn't like the Yoga because it just folds backward but is still just as heavy and bulky.

[gingin6789]

I've been really wanting a tablet and I need a new laptop before I start my PhD program. I'd love to have both be Apple brands but I can't really afford that at this point. I've been looking at hybrids. HP has the X2, which I really like so far and is relatively affordable for a tablet/laptop. They have one with an i5 and an i7 processor so I'll probably go for the beefed up processing power if I go with that. I've been saving for a while now so I'll have to see what my financial situation is closer to September.

HP has some of those hybrids! The price is decent, and I was considering one, but there's not a whole lot of hard drive space if I remember correctly (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).  I also think the screens are smaller (which is totally understandable since it's, you know, supposed to be tablet-sized).  I wasn't sure what I thought about HP before, but I really like mine right now =)

Edited February 26, 2014 by gingin6789

[Maleficent999]

HP has some of those hybrids! The price is decent, and I was considering one, but there's not a whole lot of hard drive space if I remember correctly (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).  I also think the screens are smaller (which is totally understandable since it's, you know, supposed to be tablet-sized).  I wasn't sure what I thought about HP before, but I really like mine right now =)

Yeah, I checked out the X2 and I really like it. I think it had pretty standard hard-drive space, I don't recall the exact specs but I already own a huge external HD so I'm not really worried about. Right now it has an i5 processor (that's pretty good) and the salesman said that before the end of summer they'd have it with an i7 too (that's A LOT of power). I really only liked the X2 so I didn't look at the other HP hybrids very much but the X2 is a totally regular-sized screen (maybe 13in?). The price IS good too. My only concern was that it doesn't have a CD-Rom drive. I could buy an external drive and the salesman said most of the programs I might need are available for download, but just in general I'd prefer to have one. I'm going to keep my eyes out for new stuff through the next several months though. my current Macbook has lasted me since 2008, miraculously, but it needs to retire.

[rising_star]

If you're looking at the HP X2, Woot has them on sale today. They're factory refurbished and under $500. http://tech.woot.com/

[overworkedta]

I have a surface pro and I love it but the battery life isn't great and I still would rather use the laptop for other things.  The sell with this one is that I can still run STATA on it.  Can't do that with any other actual tablet on the market and it was half the price of an ultrabook on sale.

[spectastic]

if that hp split came with a core i5, I would've bought it. tablet is nice, but it's more of a luxury item. Can you take notes with it?

[Maleficent999]

If you're looking at the HP X2, Woot has them on sale today. They're factory refurbished and under $500. http://tech.woot.com/

Thanks for the heads up but unfortunately the i3 doesn't cut it for me.

[spectastic]

you can probably upgrade the processor for an extra $100 if you do it yourself, still a good deal if you ask me.

[stmaan01]

Thinkpads. They are bulletproof, powerful, and if you choose to go with the x-series, very portable. The only downside is that they sometimes look like black boxes, so people who like flashy tech gear will be turned away. But, I love my thinkpad.

[gellert]

I'm planning on a Macbook air with all the specs (including add-ons), as it will best fit my needs (and all my software is only Mac compatible).  Wondering how it is for gaming, though?  Anyone have experience running, say, Skyrim from Bootcamp on MB air?

[spectastic]

thinkpads are pretty expensive if you ask me. They're like the PC version of macbooks. but they are very well built from what I've understand, even after being acquired by Lenovo.

 

 

I'm planning on a Macbook air with all the specs (including add-ons), as it will best fit my needs (and all my software is only Mac compatible).  Wondering how it is for gaming, though?  Anyone have experience running, say, Skyrim from Bootcamp on MB air?

 

I don't know about you, but I feel like there's not going to be any time to play video games in grad school. I sold my xbox for this very reason. With the free time that I do get, I'll probably make the most of it, and I can never really get any satisfaction playing video games afterward. 

[gellert]

thinkpads are pretty expensive if you ask me. They're like the PC version of macbooks. but they are very well built from what I've understand, even after being acquired by Lenovo.

 

 

 

I don't know about you, but I feel like there's not going to be any time to play video games in grad school. I sold my xbox for this very reason. With the free time that I do get, I'll probably make the most of it, and I can never really get any satisfaction playing video games afterward. 

 

You're probably right. :/  Better not to tempt myself, even.  

[GeoDUDE!]

thinkpads are pretty expensive if you ask me. They're like the PC version of macbooks. but they are very well built from what I've understand, even after being acquired by Lenovo.

 

 

 

I don't know about you, but I feel like there's not going to be any time to play video games in grad school. I sold my xbox for this very reason. With the free time that I do get, I'll probably make the most of it, and I can never really get any satisfaction playing video games afterward. 

 

 

If you don't have free time you are doing something wrong.

[zipykido]

You're probably right. :/  Better not to tempt myself, even.  

 

You need to plan time to destress or else you will burn yourself out very fast. Schedule times to do things you enjoy, whether it be playing video games, exercising, reading books, listening to music, etc. That being said, I highly doubt you'll be able to run many games on a macbook air although they do have the Iris integrated graphics chip you'd have a hard time pushing out decent framerates with a ULV processor.

[spectastic]

You need to plan time to destress or else you will burn yourself out very fast. Schedule times to do things you enjoy, whether it be playing video games, exercising, reading books, listening to music, etc. That being said, I highly doubt you'll be able to run many games on a macbook air although they do have the Iris integrated graphics chip you'd have a hard time pushing out decent framerates with a ULV processor.

I've always thought the GPU is the limiting factor for PC gaming. You can't really get much out of a 13.3 screen anyway. 

 

and this is just from my personal experience. I unwind a lot better doing something outside than playing video games. It gets real boring after a while, but you keep playing it because it's addicting. 

[zipykido]

I've always thought the GPU is the limiting factor for PC gaming. You can't really get much out of a 13.3 screen anyway. 

 

and this is just from my personal experience. I unwind a lot better doing something outside than playing video games. It gets real boring after a while, but you keep playing it because it's addicting. 

 

Generally a good GPU will increase image quality but you still need a strong CPU to calculate most of the physics and other calculation, it really depends on what games you intend to play. Also screen size is irrelevant to performance, a 60" 1080p television has the same number of pixels as a 5.2" 1080p cell phone display, it all comes down to the number of pixels. You can play games fine on a 13.3" display. If you have other ways to unwind then that's great.

[spectastic]

http://www.woot.com/offers/asus-13-3-core-i5-128gb-ssd-zenbook-9

 

best deal I've found so far. I'm not sure about the SSD, because I saw a review stating that you get either a really good SSD, or a sub par one, and it's totally based on chance. Still, this is a great deal, perfect for traveling. 

 

 

btw. they had this sale maybe a month ago, and it sold out. looks like they restocked. 

http://www.woot.com/plus/laptops-the-tops

Edited March 16, 2014 by spectastic

[spectastic]

http://www.woot.com/offers/asus-13-3-core-i5-128gb-ssd-zenbook-9

 

oh shit. it's sold out... looks like I bought the last one. hehehe

Edited March 16, 2014 by spectastic